Crimea vote will worsen situation: UN chief Ban Ki-moon

United Nations, March 18: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was deeply concerned and disappointed with Crimea’s secession referendum Sunday and said it would only exacerbate an already complex and tense situation.

“The secretary-general continues to closely follow the situation in Ukraine,” Ban’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters in New York Monday, adding that since the beginning of the crisis the UN chief has urged all parties to avoid “hasty steps” that could exacerbate tensions.

“He encourages all parties to work for a solution that is guided by the principles of the UN Charter, including respecting Ukraine’s unity and sovereignty,” said Dujarric.

His statement comes in the wake of an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council Saturday in which the 15-nation body was blocked from adopting a resolution urging the international community to affirm Ukraine’s national borders and declare the referendum in Crimea invalid, owing to a veto from Russia, a permanent member.

China, which is also a permanent member, abstained from the vote.

The UN secretary-general also condemned the violence that occurred over the weekend in eastern Ukraine and resulted in injuries and loss of life.